A Controller's Destiny (Unit Matched #3) (3 page)

“Then what is?”

Before I can explain how reproduction works, Amaya tugs on my arm. “Xaviera needs the ladies room.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and try to control my temper.

When the heck have I ever had a temper?

I hop off the stool and follow behind Xaviera to the back of the building where the bathrooms are located.

I stand at the sink, mindlessly washing my hands. This evening is already confusing and the sad part is it is just getting started.

I step to the side when two, very beautiful women walk up to the sink. They’re both in tight miniskirts and low cut tops. I pull my jacket tighter. I mean, it’s January they have to be a little cold.

“Did you see the big guy at the bar?” the blonde asks.

“Mr. Muscles in blue? Oh yeah, I’m totally going to try to jump on that.” The red head smirks as she applies another layer of fire engine red lipstick.

I stare at them because I know that they’re talking about Graham. Amaya walks up to the sink and nods her head at me over the girls. I shake mine knowing that she is asking permission to tell them off. I know Amaya is supposed to protect Xaviera but she would protect me too. I have no doubt. I’ve seen her take Graham down before, so I know she could break these skinny girls like toothpicks.

“Well, if he doesn’t go home with you then maybe he could take us both. I think he could handle us,” the blonde cackles.

My stomach turns as they talk about my Matched like this. Amaya dries her hands and stares me down. She’s waiting for permission and I shake my head.

Xaviera comes out last and washes her hands. She stares at the girls as they continue their banter about what could possibly be in Graham’s pants. The tears burning my eyes are from jealously along with a little bit of rage.

“Excuse me, ladies,” Xaviera walks up to them and Amaya’s immediately at her side. “I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but that’s my friend’s husband you’re talking about. And I don’t think that it’s appropriate to talk of someone’s husband.” Her voice is calm and cool as she nods in my direction.

“Miss Little Thing over there is with Mr. Muscles? I doubt it.” The red head scoffs.

“She is.” Amaya growls at her. Both of the girls shrink back. “So, shut your mouths.”

I can feel Amaya’s fury. I walk over to her and place my hand on her forearm, erasing some of it.

“Come on, girls.” I softly say. Xaviera and Amaya follow my lead toward the door.

“There’s no ring,” the blonde pushes. “If you’re married to him, where’s the ring?”

I turn back to her. “You don’t need a piece of jewelry to be someone’s soul mate.” I head out the door first. I go straight for the bar where the guys are still standing.

“I’m not feeling well. May we go home?” I quickly ask as I reach Graham.

“Um… are you sure?”

“You’re not going home.” Amaya stops me.

“Don’t let those girls ruin your night, Gia.” Xaviera takes my hand.

“What girls?” Graham looks around. Right on cue the blonde and the red head walk right past us, sizing us all up.

Amaya leaps for one of them, but Oliver quickly stops her. “Amaya,” he softly growls at her. “Calm down.”

“I want to leave,” I say again. My stomach is flipping over and my nerves are on edge.

“Gia, no. Let’s have a good night.” Xaviera tries to soothe me.

I look up at Graham. “I want to leave.”

“The Princess is right; let’s have a good time.” His face is serious.

“I’ll drive myself.” I grab my purse and race to the door. I can’t be in this place anymore. I hear everyone yell for me, but I ignore them all and continue to the car.

I almost make it to the car when Graham catches up with me.

“What the hell was that, Gia?”

I unlock the door and swing it open. Graham stops it from shutting. “You’re not driving home. For whatever reason, you’re upset, which means you’re in no condition to drive.”

I narrow my eyes at him.

“If you want to go home, I’ll drive us.”

We stare at each other. I don’t know why I am overreacting so much, but I am mad. I finally relent and walk over to the other side of the car and get in.

Graham pulls out and heads back toward Unit. Neither of us say anything and I jump when his phone rings. He hits the speaker button.

“Yeah.”

“G, you left your credit card at the bar; I have it,” Thaddeus says from the other end.

“Thanks Thad.”

“O and I are still going to work out tomorrow if you want to come. Text me.”

“K.” Graham hangs up and tosses the phone back into the cup holder next to him in the console.

We both remain silent as we head into Unit. After we reach the driveway, I slam the car door and hurriedly bolt into the house.

“Enough, Gia.” Graham is right behind me. “Tell me what the hell is going on.”

I head up to my room still not speaking to him. I go to slam the bedroom door, but he stops it.

“Enough,” he says more forcefully. “This isn’t like you. Now tell me.”

I shake my head; there’s so much anger in me that I think I’m going to explode.

“We went to the bathroom, and those two girls were talking about you. Saying all sorts of inappropriate things about your… body. Xaviera confronted them but that didn’t help. Then the blonde was saying how you didn’t have a ring. It didn’t help that I was mad from our earlier conversation.” I unbutton my jacket. I didn’t care if he’s still in the room.

“Let me understand this, you’re mad because of something two girls, who mean nothing to me, said.”

I nod.

“Why would their opinion of me matter to you?”

“Because they were saying vulgar things about you. It was making me sick.” I sit down on the side of the bed.

“Gia.” Graham walks over to me and sits down. It’s the first time he’s ever done that. “I don’t know what they said; I don’t care what they said. The only thing on my agenda tonight was making sure you had a good night because you deserved it. I know how stressful the past few months have been on you, especially with Amaya and Thaddeus punishments. You really stepped up and were there for the Princess one hundred percent.”

I wipe the tears that silently fell down my cheek.

“I will say that it’s cute to see you jealous,” he chuckles.

“Jealous?” I baulk at him trying to pretend he’s wrong. “I didn’t like the things they said.”

“Listen to me, Shorty. Those girls, any girls like that, they’ll never sway me from you. No one would. You’re my Matched. There’s no one else.”

I can’t believe he is saying such sweet things to me.

“I am sorry about the conversation in the car. I didn’t mean to bring up kids. I shouldn’t push you.”

I roll my eyes at Graham. “You don’t get it do you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Graham, I do want kids. I would like for us to have kids. However, it can’t happen when you’re sleeping in the guest room. It’s not going to happen through the wall, I can guarantee that.” The anger has resurfaced.

Graham stares at me for a moment then leaves the room without saying another word.

I groan in frustration and fall back on the bed, covering my face with my hands. He does this every time we talk about the fact that he doesn’t touch me.

I give up. This night is a complete bust and I need to focus on the fact I’m going to work on Monday. I strip out of my clothes and crawl in bed. I shut out everything and drift into sleep.

Chapter 3

Hello, I’m Mrs. Centers

Graham spent Saturday with Thaddeus and Oliver. They worked out and then had a guy’s night. He spent the evening at Xaviera and Thaddeus’s playing video games all night. I heard Graham come in during the middle of the night.

Sunday, I went with Xaviera and Amaya and had a spa day. I had a pedicure, manicure, and facial. It was exactly what I needed. Before I ever got into the car, I told them I didn’t want to talk about Friday night, and they never said a word.

I saw Graham for a few moments Sunday evening before he went to help his brother. They were rebuilding an old car together. Again, I didn’t hear him come in until late.

I wake Monday morning and nerves have me bouncing off the walls. I make sure I have the perfect outfit laid out. I yell at my hair for being too straight and my makeup for not bringing out my hazel eyes out more.

I rush downstairs and stop in my tracks seeing Graham making breakfast.

“I figured you can’t go to work without some sustenance,” he smiles.

“Um…” I don’t know what to say. I had no clue he could cook. Now, I’m looking at an omelet and hash browns. “Thank you, Graham.”

“You’re welcome, Shorty.” He walks over to me and hugs me. We have hugged on a few other occasions but they were short and quick. This time he holds me. I wrap my arms around his waist and inhale his scent.

“I’ve got to head to work. I’ll see you tonight.” He releases me and leaves me in the kitchen.

My heart pounds as I watch him head toward the front door. A smile is plastered on my face as I sit down and eat the delicious food he made. When I put everything into the dishwasher, I notice a brown bag with a yellow post-it sitting on the counter.

For my Shorty

Graham made me a lunch for work. I close my eyes because I don’t want the tears to ruin my makeup. It’s sweet that he thought of me like this. I take another deep breath and head out the door.

~~~

The girls I had in the morning were good groups. They listened to everything I said and seemed to actually care about math. Although, they weren’t too pleased about the homework.

I went down to the teacher’s lounge to have lunch and saw a few other teachers in there as well. Everyone knew who I was, and I knew them. In the Unit, we all know each other.

“How is your first day?” Mrs. Parker asks.

“It’s going really well. I’m still a little nervous.”

“That will go away soon,” she smiles.

I open my bag and see that Graham made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple slices, and veggie chips.

“Aw, did Graham pack your lunch?” Mrs. Jackson, a Royal and English teacher, asks me.

I smile and feel my cheeks heat up.

“I remember when John used to that.” She looks at me with motherly eyes.

“You’re lucky, Gia.” Mrs. Parker stirs her soup. “When David and I first lived together after our decision period, we didn’t even stay in the same bedroom.”

“What?” I stare at her with an open mouth.

“Nope. It took us almost a whole year to
warm-up
to each other.”

“Not John and I.” Mrs. Jackson giggles. “I was pregnant before our decision period was over.”

I listen to Mrs. Jackson’s stories before she leaves to get ready for her next class. I want to hear more about Mrs. Parker’s story, but I don’t know how to approach it. I know I will never ask her anyway because it wouldn’t be polite.

“Gia,” Mrs. Parker smiles again. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

“Thank you.” I throw away my trash and head back to the classroom.

Before the bell, I grab my cell phone to text Graham only to see that he’s texted me.

Graham:
I hope you’re having a great day.

Me:
I am. Thank you for my lunch. It was very yummy.

I didn’t think he would text me back so quickly.

Graham:
Are you texting in class? You might get in trouble ;)

Me:
Well, this teacher is sort-of nice and class hasn’t started yet.

Graham:
I know for a fact she’s very nice. Have a good day, Shorty. See you tonight.

I smile at the screen and put my phone away, ready to start the afternoon classes.

~~~

“Shorty, I’m home.” I hear Graham from the front door.

“In the kitchen.” I continue to stir the soup.

He stands close to me. “That looks wonderful.”

“There’s Pepsi on the counter for you.”

“Thank you. I need it right now.” He takes a long drink.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just a long day. What about you? How were the afternoon girls?”

I dish out the soup into two bowls. “Good. Not as enthusiastic as the morning classes, but still good. Sorry, this isn’t a big dinner. My feet are killing me.” I sit the bowl in front of him.

“This is perfect.” He grabs his spoon and digs in.

As we eat, Graham tells me about the building that they are rewiring. He says the job is bigger than he thought it was going to be and might have to be going in earlier than usual.

“Graham, do you think that I could take that small bedroom and turn it into an office? I mean we can both use it, but I don’t want to spread all my lesson plans and what-not here on the kitchen table.” I didn’t want to spill anything on it all either.

“Sure,” he shrugs and clears our bowls. “You can do whatever you want. I’m going to take a shower.”

I finish cleaning everything up, I sit down at the kitchen table with my laptop and lesson plans. When Graham is finished upstairs he turns on his Xbox and the sounds of zombies and gun fire echo throughout the house. I slip my ear buds in and blast my Pandora app in my ears.

I don’t know how long I sit there going everything for tomorrow, but after I yawn a few times, I know I need to go to bed. I pack it all away in my messenger bag and head to the living room to say good night to Graham.

The Xbox is on the TV and showing the main menu. Graham is fast asleep in his chair. He looks so peaceful and young.

My eyes go up and down his body. His arms are large, and his legs are just as muscular. I can tell even through his sweatpants. His hair is still damp and still laying on his forehead. I’ve always wanted to run my hands through his hair. I can tell that it will be soft, but I’ve never been able to do it.

I walk over to the closet and grab an extra blanket. I gently cover him up. He moans, but doesn’t wake up. I sit on the arm of his recliner and continue to study him. His thick, black eyelashes are fanned out against his cheek. His chin dimple is more pronounced. His lips are full and almost kissable.

I know better than to push my limits with him. I don’t know what the real reason is that he doesn’t want me. All I can think of is that I don’t turn him on. It’s sad to say, but he can look at me and I go weak in the knees for him. I move my lips closer to his. I pause for a brief second and hover over his. I close the gap and lightly peck his lips. Graham moans a sigh of contentment.

I sit back and hope that he doesn’t wake up. It’s the only way I’m able to kiss my Matched. It’s like a twisted fairy tale, and I know the ending isn’t going to be a happy one.